The invention takes as its starting point a method for increasing the safety of motor-vehicle occupants in the event of a crash, by reducing fuel pressure and volume in the fuel supply system upon sensing a collision. A method for increasing the safety of motor-vehicle occupants in the event of a crash has already been disclosed (DE 31 16 867 A1). In this method, a fuel pump of a fuel supply system for the internal combustion engine is switched off with the aid of a signal from a retardation sensor of an airbag installed in the motor vehicle if the motor vehicle is involved in a crash. However, there is still fuel in fuel lines of the fuel supply system which, for example, carry fuel via a common pipe to fuel injection valves of the internal combustion engine, and this fuel may ignite in the event of a crash.